Hi All,
I am in the process of updating the website for new content. It will happen in the next week or so (definitely before Christmas). And it will be one of our largest.
At least six stories (maybe more--haven't decided yet *shrugs*) and at least nine poems.
More details will be released as they arise. Thought y'all should know.
Joe :-)
Greetings everyone! Wow, it has been a while since the last update of Aberrant Dreams. Well, that is about to change. I am currently working on a large, really large, content update that will be going up as soon as it is ready. Look for it over the next couple of weeks.
Lonny came up with a neat idea and I thought I would mention it here. HD-IMAGE has been in small press publishing for roughly three years, featuring mainly speculative fiction. However, we're looking to open our catalogue a little wider.
Within the next year, HD-IMAGE would like to add one or two comic collection titles to its catalogue. As a side note, we do list our publications with Ingram catalogue, which places us in the markets for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, etc.
Some things to consider:
-we are not accepting comicbook submissions, only collections (e.g., Calvin and Hobbes, The Farside Gallery, Get Fuzzy, etc.)
-advanced royalties are not being offered, but payment of royalties will meet the industry standard
-currently, only black-and-white/gray scale interior printing is being offered
-humor is a huge selling point
-collections containing graphic violence or pornographic material will not be accepted
If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Lonny Harper at comics@hd-image.com. In the email, please state your full name, how long you have been creating comics, the address of your website, and a short blurb about how you promote yourself. Also, attach one (1) .jpeg with an example of your work.
Response time will vary depending on submissions, but is generally two to six weeks.
Feel free to see more about us at HD-IMAGE. Please note that the site does require a Flash player.
Four new stories have been added to the site.
1. Little Red Caplets, by S. P. Somtow
2. Living with a Shoulder Monster, by Eugie Foster
3. Lisa's Requiem, by Joshua Thays
4. Amalalaq's Journey, by Lawrence Barker
Five new poems have been added to the site.
1. Armin Meiwes, by S. P. Somtow
2. Grim Faced Hero, by Michael D. Turner
3. An Offering Of Lust, A Sacrifice Of Flesh, by Mikal Trimm
4. The Reaper, by Greg Schwartz
5. Jeffery Dahmer, by S. P. Somtow
What are you doing hanging around here? Go check them out.
We hope you enjoy!
Great news everyone! Aberrant Dreams is once again accepting speculative fiction poetry submissions.
Great news, everyone! The HD-Image store, Skull on a Shelf, is now online for everyone to use. There is still a need for minor tweaking throughout, but the merchandise that is on the store is available for purchase. Go check it out!
You can find it at the following link:
Those interested in preordering Aberrant Dreams I, the Awakening can do so by going here.
Thanks again for the suppport with everything, and for the great assortment of names for the store. Now the job falls to Lonny, Ernie, and me to fill it with stuff people will want to buy :-)
Joe :-)
Three new stories have been added to the site.
1. Dreamcatching, by James Lafond Sutter
2. To Grow the Road, by Wm. Michael Mott
3. The Great God Awto, by Clark Ashton Smith
What are you doing hanging around here? Go check them out.
We hope you enjoy!
All right guys and gals, below you'll see the final version of the front cover for normal hardcover and paperback version of the first anthology. Click on the image to see a slightly bigger/cleaner version.
Joe :-)
Hi all,
I thought it time to now post some details about the winning entries for the Writer’s Challenge. We had many excellent entries.
To recap, once again, we posted several pieces of artwork and asked our readers to devise a story synopsis or outline and then choose from a list of pro-authors to actually write the given stories. The winning entries will be included in the yearly Aberrant Dreams anthology released later this year.
I now present the winners. Please congratulate them as appropriate.
Winner 1
Okay, all those involved have been contacted, and I can now announce all of our new editors. Now, without further ado, please help welcome the new members of Aberrant Dreams.
Colleen Anderson
Sharon Black
Angelyne Bosch
Kave Catheson
Sara King
Richard Raucci
Marcie Tentchoff
Of particular note, with the addition of Marcie Tentchoff, Aberrant Dreams will once again start accepting poetry submissions. Expect to see more information about this in the next couple of weeks.
Thanks to everyone who tried out for the positions.
Joe :-)
Well, the email responses have been sent out to everyone, and the new editors have been selected. There were far more interested editors out there than I had realized--a lot more, and in the week (yes that's one week) we received almost fifty applicants. That is why it took more time to cycle through the trial story edits than I had anticipated.
Once I receive the return emails from the final two, I will announce the new members of our team.
Joe :-)
Thanks everyone for your participation in the first ever Jeopardy Challege which was held Saturday (3/17/07) at FantaSciCon. The event was an overwhelming success, and we have been asked by at least two other local Cons to host a Jeopardy game at their events as well. I have posted a couple of pictures of the winners below. Unfortunately, I was unable to sync up with all of the winners for a photo-op, so if you participated, and you do not see your picture there, please forgive us.
Well, things have been going great for us around here, especially since the launch of the new web layout. In fact things have been going so well, we have grown to almost 40,000 page views and between 2,000 and 3,000 unique visitors per month. And that number is continuing to grow.
That being said, the amount of submissions has increased to a point that we cannot sufficiently keep up with the heightening workload. Lonny and I spoke about this, and we agreed that it was time to bring in some new blood as fiction editors.
Aberrant Dreams is officially looking for two to three additional speculative fiction editors who would be willing to donate their time to help out and join our virtual family. There is at this time no funds from which to pull payment for these services, but that may change at a future date. This is a change to work with us, help build a lasting literary institution, and to put your two cents in for the stories we select. What we will offer is that while you are working with us you will receive a contributor’s copy for the annual anthology, a brief bio for you will be included on the site, and you will become a part of the Slip of the Pen webcomic family, in which a caricature of you will appear from time to time.
***Edit***
We have received a lot of interest and many editors are currently trying out for the role. We expect to make our choices by the end of next week, and I will let everyone know the results. Thanks to those who have contacted us.
Thanks in advance,
Joe :-)
Three new stories have been added to the site.
I just realized that the Predators and Editors voting is underway and will conclude tonight. Please check it out and support us by voting for Aberrant Dreams at the following link:
Well, so far the feedback on the new web site design has been very positive, and that is a load off my (and I'm sure, Lonny's) shoulders. It's funny that when you get ideas in your head and you're not sure how well they will be received, it's kind of like a little gremlin gnawing on the base of your skull with an almost ravenous zeal. But we have been fortunate so far and there has been no negative feedback sent. Yet, there are more things waiting in the wings, as it were--more changes and more content to be uploaded as it is completed. I'm sure the fans out there will enjoy it--hell, I enjoy creating it--yet still the little gremlin nibbles away. Hmm...I may need to seek professional help for that :-)
If there is indeed anything negative at all about the new format is that we have had to suspend unsolicited poetry and artwork submissions (hopefully that will change in the future). Also, there is no longer have a recognizable structure to the individual issues on a less that annual scale. That fact has complicated magazine reviews of Aberrant Dreams a bit, and this is particularly perplexing since the reviews are a source of additional exposure. Over the past two, going on three, years, we have found that exposure has by-and-large been the single hardest obstacle to overcome (well, that and making enough money to support Aberrant Dreams, but I digress).
I had an email discussion about this just yesterday, and it was decided that the reviews would be best derived from the annual anthologies which will be towards the end of 2007. The reasoning for this decision is because the anthology will be a much more completed package for the reviewers, with stories and other content not posted on the web. I look forward to holding one of these anthologies, but alas that's still many months away (*grumble, grumble*).
As you may have already noticed, the site has been completely redesigned from the ground up. This rendition requires Macromedia Flash 8.0 to view properly (it's free from their website). We hope you like it.
Also, submissions are open again!
